Two-alarm fire damages Fullerton tux shop

July 9, 2014

Updated 10:06 p.m.

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Fullerton firefighters work to put out a fire at a tuxedo rental business on Commonwealth Avenue in Fullerton on Wednesday night. A total of about 50 firefighters from 15 agencies assisted in battling the blaze. No one was injured. FOSTER SNELL , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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A Fullerton firefighter climbs the ladder during a fire at a tuxedo rental business on Commonwealth Avenue on Wednesday. FOSTER SNELL , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Smoke streams through the sky during a fire on Wednesday. The roof of the business collapsed in the blaze, but there were no injuries. FOSTER SNELL , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Fullerton residents bike down the street as smoke floods through from a fire on Wednesday. Many took to Twitter to talk about it. FOSTER SNELL , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Fullerton firefighters work to put out a fire at a tuxedo rental business on Commonwealth Avenue in Fullerton on Wednesday night. A total of about 50 firefighters from 15 agencies assisted in battling the blaze. No one was injured. FOSTER SNELL , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Chief Wolfgang Knabe said no one was inside when the fire at Allen’s Tuxedos started, and no firefighters were hurt while extinguishing it.

More than 50 firefighters from 15 companies, including Anaheim and the Orange County Fire Authority as well as Fullerton, were called to the fire in the 700 block of West Commonwealth Avenue, Knabe said. A dispatcher said it was reported at 6:55 p.m.

Witnesses said they could see flames through the roof, which Knabe said later collapsed. The chief said the cause of the fire wasn’t yet known.

The fire was contained before it could spread to any other buildings, but it took more than two hours for firefighters to extinguish the last of the debris. Knabe said they had to wait for crews to handle hazardous materials in the shop, which he said could have included cleaning chemicals. Late Wednesday, crews were still cleaning up the damage.

“We’re going to be here all night,” Knabe said.

Jenny Sue O’Brien, who lives nearby, said in a Twitter message that she saw a “giant plume of black smoke” for at least half an hour while watching the longtime business burn from her balcony.

Hayden Dumayag said he saw smoke while driving and went toward downtown to see the fire. He got a video of the shop’s sign falling down. The 23-year-old, who grew up in Fullerton, said he and his friends got their tuxes for prom at Allen’s.

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